This invention relates to a thermal pack and gel for use therein, and more particularly to a thermal pack having a gel pack and a separate pressure chamber which can be inflated and deflated and a flow retardant gel for use therein for use on sore or injured body portions.
Ice packs and heat packs have proved their therapeutic usefulness for treatment of aches, pains, sprains and the like and have taken on new significance in the field of medicine, particularly sports related medicine. It has been well recognized that heat, cold and pressure alone or in various combinations may be helpful aids to therapy and first aid. Conventional heat packs or cold packs require the use of straps, tape or wrap to hold them in place, making them difficult and often messy to use. Additionally, it is difficult to surround a limb and to supply uniform contact over the entire area.
Various methods of providing heat and cold to injuries have been used. Most common is the ice pack which uses a conventional polymer bag with crushed ice or ice cubes enclosed therein, or a fluid that is endothermic and which is activated one time by breaking an encapsulated pouch. A more advanced example of an ice pack is a plastic bag or pouch containing an extremely viscous flowable gel material of water, glycol and clay. Common disadvantages of conventional gels are that they include fast flow rates, or high motility, so that when the pack is used the gel will flow or migrate rapidly away from all pressure points, thereby thinning out over the area to which the gel is most needed and thickening at the periphery where it is least useful. Additionally, the gel may migrate rapidly downward in response to gravity from areas of the pad which are in a vertical position. This diminishes the effectiveness of the pad in application of heat or cold.
Previously, the only means of providing a combination of heat and pressure or cold and pressure has been to use the conventional heat or cold packs in conjunction with tape or elastic bandages or other wrapping material. These methods make it extremely difficult to supply even pressure and even heating or cooling of the desired surface.